This dataset resulted from a research project designed to bridge the divide - between 'official' cancer treatment/research and other 'unofficial' expertise - in understanding the possible environmental causes of breast cancer in the UK. The Geographic Information Systems for Participation (GIS-P) methodology employed by the researchers aimed to increase understanding of the various positions in the debate. As the capture of detailed participatory derived spatial data - a process that proved problematic - was deemed less important than the stimulation of debate, the data eventually collected was of relatively limited quantity.

The maps, drawn at focus group interviews held in Wrexham, North Wales and the village of Quarter, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, present the respondents' perceptions of risk factors associated with the incidence of breast cancer in their local environments.